FISHER Grandma and Grandpa Bear Details (Fireplace Series)

[webbie]

I then moved to Maryland and formed the Chesapeake Stove Works,Inc. In BelAir,MD.
:coolsmile:

So you are the Warner Guy I visited when I bought stoves down there?
I thought that was the name of the maker? Am I wrong?
https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/wiki/Warner_Stove

I remember that LONG list of people who were in line ahead of us. I ran Stoveworks in Medford, NJ at the time!

We sold Warner for a while, even picking up the double door model......

I also remember that high technology you had in that shop...that is, the double torch duplicator.

 

[coaly]

Welcome to the forum Bob; You need to change your username to The Siamese Bear soon. There's a saying that goes "Anyone not making mistakes isn't getting anything done".

 

[yooperdave]

hey coaly. how you been? haven't spoken since this past winter.
there is a grandpa bear for sale "locally" (within 3 hours). the fella is asking 500 but when asked if the price was negotiable, he just about jumped at the chance. and of course, when i asked what kind of shape it's in, "oh man, its like new".
all the being said, is there a price range for an average condition fisher? (she thinks i'm nuts for pursuing this, of course) thanks, brother. pm me if you need to.

 

[coaly]

Hi, doing good. I shot you a PM on my pricing views that may not be well liked by sellers of the "vintage, antique, and otherwise rare collectables". That said, whatever the buyer is willing to pay. Those of us wanting a better deal may have to wait longer and drive a little farther, but they do come up from time to time. Notice the colder it gets, the more they sell for. I do believe temperature and price are related !

 

[coaly]

Variations with all Fisher Stoves are due to licensed fabricators across the US buying hardware locally instead of the draft caps and handles from Fisher who required them to purchase the doors from them. At one time, draft caps were selling for 4.50 a set, and the Utah fabricator started making their own. Others bought pipe caps locally to keep the building price down and increase profits. Here's one of the first '76 models with pipe cap dampers and homemade handles.

 

[ajbabug]

Coaly,
Thanks for consolidating this here. (reference my Grandpa Bear post on the main page)
Looks like I have a 1980 or later model. The arched doors match the top right photo.
Actually almost the same as that photo except fot the vent location, mine is rear vs top.
And I guess the bear feet help to date it to a later vintage too.
The plates behind the door drafts are probably a result of the UL update too.
Will probably experiment with a larger baffle plate, the one in there is only 2" or so. Perhaps it is a bracket to support a larger plate that took a different path at some point.
Sounds like name plates were optional, have only seen them referenced on a few posts.
Mine is 2x3 with basic silk screen lettering (info on the other post) riveted to the back of the unit.
Forgot to mention, I also have the front screen, looks repainted but they did a decent job with it.
Thanks again, learned alot from all the posts.
regards
ab

 

[coaly]

The only plates mounted to the inside of the doors I'm aware of are "Nickel Protective Shields" that were optional on nickel doors. This will prevent discoloration of nickel plating, although I've never seen one with discolored or flaking nickel plate wthout them.

Your baffle plate should be a minimum of 8 inches, depending on the angle, try to cover the exhaust vent hole directing the heat to the stove top step. I've found the easiet made baffle support is placing a fire brick on edge at the stove sides on top of the factory first course as shown in this thread. https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/82318/
I've had no problems with 5/16 thick A-36 plate steel warpage in a Goldilocks that is the same width as a Grandma stove or Insert.

 

[ajbabug]

Those are the plates. The stove is basic black, but I'm sure it was repainted.
Plating must have been painted over or damaged / removed.
Was wondering about the in line damper, then I sat the post about operating in the "fireplace" mode.
Another question answered! Not sure if I will ever use it like that, but better to have the damper and not need it.
Thanks again!

 

[coaly]

Did you ever try to remove the paint from the raised polished areas? Many are painted over from laziness not wanting to polish the nickel or brass. By rubbing a small area with metal polish, you will soon find out what's under the paint. Orange Citristrip brand paint stripper will remove the paint without damage to the plating if there are nice doors under the paint. It's a gel that won't run, and can be used indoors. If you get busy with other things, it can be left on to soak and work for 24 hours. I prefer to polish with Maas Metal Polish, and the doors usually look like new. Chances are there are good doors under there. (unless someone tried to clean them with something abrasive) Once cleaned and polished, you can paint the entire door, then wipe the dried paint off the polished areas before firing to cure the paint.

 

[ajbabug]

Just picked the stove up last weekend so it has been sitting as I get everything else ready.
I did a quick inspection of the areas where the plating would be and there are no sanding marks showing through the paint.
It all appears to be very smooth undr the paint. I'll try removing the pain to see what lies beneath.
That would be a nice surprise to find.
I noticed in the picture that the "claw" feet look like they are cast on that unit.
Mine has the plated "overshoes" that the legs drop into.
Will let you know what I find under the paint.

 

[CamFan]

Those are the cast legs

 

[coaly]

The 2 styles of cast iron legs; Both are marked Fisher Stoves on back side.

 

[comstock1869]

Were the Grandpa Bear stoves painted black from the factory or were they a blue-gray? I want to touch up my two Grandpa Bears without repainting them, just try to match the 30 year old many wood fired color they are now but I need a basis for a starting point.

 

[coaly]

Stove Bright Satin Black will give it the original look.

The optional brown after 1980 is Stove Bright's Metallic Brown.

 

[ajbabug]

Got the stove on to the hearth yesterday, what a beast!
All set in place for pipe installation now.
Used some rubbing compound (for auto paint refinishing) which took the black off nicely.
Polished it up with Mothers Mag polish.
Looks like you were right, thanks for the tip A nice little buried treasure to find!
Just did the tips of the branches on the lower left of the right door and one next to the draft cap so far.
Hopefully the rest will clean up as nicely.

Not sure if the draft caps were ever plated but they were hit with sandpaper or a wire wheel so nothing left there.
Caps are aluminum, painted between the ribs, looks like they got corroded at sp,e point which triggered the abrasive.
Going to take some elbow grease to dress them up.

Thanks for all the info and tips! will get some pics when it is a bit more "presentable".

ab

 

[comstock1869]

I have seen some real shiny black stoves and I like the slightly grayed looked of my many fired stove. I will play with the satin black and see what it takes to bring that color closer to the current color. Thanks!

 

[CamFan]

I have seen some real shiny black stoves and I like the slightly grayed looked of my many fired stove. I will play with the satin black and see what it takes to bring that color closer to the current color. Thanks!

The best paint is by far the stove bright paint. But the earliest stoves were painted with DeRusto grill paint. The DeRusto is good for 1700 degrees and the Stove Bright for 2100 degrees I believe that is correct. You will find two different looks after fired. You may paint two pieces of metal and fire them off with a torch and compair the color you are looking for. After the paint has heated it will help you out. I would say the derusto will grey more and the stove bright will hold the nice black most people are looking for.
Good luck.

 

[comstock1869]

I have determined my Grandpa Bear was built about the time they were first introduced (thanks Coaly!). So 1979-1980 vintage. I cannot find any serial number or date and my GP is from north Idaho. I am not sure which paint you suggested would have been used but seeing the graying of my stove, I appear to have my answer. Many thanks!

 

[CamFan]

I have determined my Grandpa Bear was built about the time they were first introduced (thanks Coaly!). So 1979-1980 vintage. I cannot find any serial number or date and my GP is from north Idaho. I am not sure which paint you suggested would have been used but seeing the graying of my stove, I appear to have my answer. Many thanks!

Coaly has so much information it is great. For our factory in SE US, Georgia, I worked there so I know alot of that. I do not the facts Coaly does. I would say between the two of us he can answer all of the questions and I can fill in how we did it. The hands on stuff.

If you look under the ash fender the serial # may be there. That is where we put it. I do not know if all the plants did that or not.

 

[Redbear86]

Yea i used the brush on enamel paint for my doors and the rustoleum hi temp paint for the rest of the stove, the enamel brush on paint was much darker and gave a better contrast to the silver graphics, i need a better pic this one is off my phone

 

[comstock1869]

Yes you do need a better photo! Would like to see what you describe.

 

[CamFan]

It looks great.

 

[Redbear86]

i should've taken a before picture, it looked pretty rough i probly could have talked the guy down from $50 even, i'm already attached to the charm of this stove, a heritage brand stove is for sale close to me and more efficient but i just like the look of this stove and how it can be used w/o the doors like a fireplace, it wont be the primary heat source, just to to take the edge off the man cave in the basement

Thanks Cam- not as good as they looked when you were done with them but it didn't turn out too bad, i really enjoyed cleaning it and painting it, theres one close by i was toying with the idea of buying and getting the doors plated for the shop

 

[comstock1869]

Let us know what the shop quotes for plating the door. I assume you are looking at nickel plating. I am getting ready to do the same thing on my "new to me" Fisher GP stove. I will share my info next summer when I shop for nickel plating pricing. Summer is a distant memory as I watch it snow on and off for 4 days here... But then how could we have fun with our Fishers without cold?

 

[Redbear86]

your right about summer seeming distant, i don't know if the boss will ok a door plating expense, may be in the distant future- there are an abundance of double door fishers around here lately, found a grandma and a grandpa someone hacked the legs off of for $100, seems that was popular out here before they made a fireplace model, i've had some plans to build a big smoker on a little boat trailer (I raise pigs) thinking a couple grandma's with the tops cut off would make a great firebox, don't know how many people besides me would appreciate it around here- Coaly might cry if I posted a picture of that on here.


Camfan, i've noticed two different tree configurations on the '76 doors-- did the shop you work at make any bicentineal stoves or did you guys start after that?